Mercato Rossonero: Milan Transfer Activity Inside Out

I'm sick of seeing our hyped up young players getting loaned out to other clubs and then never making it back to the first team.

Is Robinho better than Niang?

Is Birsa better than Merkel?

Is Essien better than Strasser?

Is Matri better than Paloschi?

Is Emanuelson better than Albertazzi?

No. And, what's worse is that all of those younger players have the potential to be so much better than these old hacks.

Who's next on the list to be loaned out...?

Is Muntari better than Cristante?

Is Zaccardo better than Pacifico?

As soon as this shit ends, our coach and management will find that they suddenly have better depth players and better 1st team players too - and with the added bonus of spending next to no money on these players.

Not meaning to be argumentative, but I'd argue that Birsa, Emanuelson and Zaccardo are certainly better players at this point in time, though Zaccardo is one who I see falling away very quickly as the last breaths of physicality leave his body soon, whilst Essien qualifies by virtue of the fact that I had forgotten Strasser existed.

Cristante and Muntari's an imperfect comparison in my eyes, for they're two players whose qualities in midfield provide such a contrast that they shouldn't be seen as competition in my eyes. Cristante's willingness to pass and move is a promising sign however his defensive imprint is nonexistent.

Paloschi's probably ahead of Matri however they're both utterly limited forwards who offer nothing outside the box and I have no interest in seeing either of them at Milan. Niang I will give you simply because Robinho's physically a shadow of his first season.

This being said, I still absolutely agree with your point that we must seek to fill up extra squad spots through our youth system not through the market. They may not represent as much immediate quality or reliability, however it's a solution that literally saves millions per player, per year. Silvestre's a better defender than anyone in our youth team, yet what was the point of adding him to our wage bill so that he could play four games? Not everyone will turn out to be capable of meeting our high standards, however some will represent adequate depth until we return to the top and can begin to be picky once more, whilst others can attract some better buyers than the likes of Serie C clubs. Then, once in a while, you'll avoid losing a talent like Aubameyang or the likes.

PSG defender Alex not looking likely to sign for AC Milan, according to Sky Italia.

AC Milan have offered him a 2 year contract with an option for a third, while PSG have offered him a one year contract with an option to extend at the end of the season. Alex prefers PSG's conditions.

In the last few hours Manchester United have shown interest in him as well.

dostoevsky wrote:PSG defender Alex not looking likely to sign for AC Milan, according to Sky Italia.

AC Milan have offered him a 2 year contract with an option for a third, while PSG have offered him a one year contract with an option to extend at the end of the season. Alex prefers PSG's conditions.

In the last few hours Manchester United have shown interest in him as well.

Moyes our saviour

M99 wrote:

dostoevsky wrote:PSG defender Alex not looking likely to sign for AC Milan, according to Sky Italia.

AC Milan have offered him a 2 year contract with an option for a third, while PSG have offered him a one year contract with an option to extend at the end of the season. Alex prefers PSG's conditions.

In the last few hours Manchester United have shown interest in him as well.

Moyes our saviour

What an amazing start to my day

Cruzeiro and Brazil defender Dedè “is liked by Milan, but also tracked by other Italian clubs,” said his agent.

The 25-year-old centre-back only moved from Vasco da Gama to Cruzeiro less than a year ago, but has already been heavily linked with a Serie A switch this summer.

“At the moment Dedè is happy at Cruzeiro, where he has the chance to prove himself in the Copa Libertadores and earn a place in the World Cup squad,” agent Giuliano Aranda told tuttomercatoweb.

“I did read the reports. It’s true Dedè is liked by Milan, but also tracked by other Italian clubs. The Rossoneri are a great side, despite their recent difficulties.

“I can confirm there has been no direct contact with Milan or other Serie A clubs. I haven’t spoken to anybody, even if the interest in Dedè remains.

“Could he come to Europe over the summer? At the moment he is focused on doing well with Cruzeiro, but I won’t rule anything out.

“Playing in Europe and Italy in the future is one of his objectives. We’ll see how the situation develops over the next few weeks, as I think between April and May we’ll have a clearer idea of any summer transfer activity.”

Forza wrote:I'm sick of seeing our hyped up young players getting loaned out to other clubs and then never making it back to the first team.

Is Robinho better than Niang?

Is Birsa better than Merkel?

Is Essien better than Strasser?

Is Matri better than Paloschi?

Is Emanuelson better than Albertazzi?

No. And, what's worse is that all of those younger players have the potential to be so much better than these old hacks.

Who's next on the list to be loaned out...?

Is Muntari better than Cristante?

Is Zaccardo better than Pacifico?

As soon as this shit ends, our coach and management will find that they suddenly have better depth players and better 1st team players too - and with the added bonus of spending next to no money on these players.

What Dosto said. I get you though , and how much you believe in what you said ; but your will to see the end product , makes you forget how difficult it is to be created . None of the youngsters you have mentioned here are better than the experienced players and i doubt if they will ever reach even the same standards . Except Matri who has psychological problems when in front of the keeper , Paloschi will obviously become a better striker than Matri , for what's worth.

Dostoevsky covered me and i won't say much . Whilst it's obviously true that we need to do something similar to Schalke with our youngsters , i must however say that unless they are players who have the complete package , it won't prove to be so positive as you may believe . All of us believed in the younger players that wore the shirt of Milan , yet how many really made it? Go by the years if you like. In contrast to how many got their chance(s) , even for Milan's poor standars with the youngsters , it has been quite high ; yet only so few made it.

We need the De Sciglios and El Shaarawys from the pool of youngsters , players of their class and ambition. Merkel and the likes you mentioned , other than Cristante , failed to establish themselves as possible protagonists , for many reasons each. Some where unlucky and their carreers took a turn for the worst after Milan , others needed experience like Paloschi , others where simply not good enough but hyped ..

In 10 youngsters , perhaps 2 will make it , if we are lucky. I am not saying what Milan has been doing with youngsters is right , or that many of these experienced scrubs helped us , but we can't stop being realistic . The younger players that will join Milan for good , will be rare picks. And that means , many will fail for every De Sciglio we get. And that's only right. As for Niang , i am with you , of course he will do more than Robinho , who's definitely finished , for Milan's demands at least. Yet Niang specifically is not what we need in this team and even more so now that he seeks to continue his carreer away from Milan.

He can gtfo as soon and as long as he likes. We don't need players , of any age , that don't badly want to be at Milan. And Niang has always been ridiculously over hyped in the first place . On top of that he's a moron , although that has mostly to do with his age.. nevertheless , he's light years away from what Milan needs to stand on their feet , so i don't see why all the frustration is about. Not just you , but all of us have to accept this simple fact , that most youngsters we test will fail before we get a gem into our hands. It takes a lot of failure to build success and i can see Milan isn't idle with the youngsters .

That we are extremely carefull & picky with most youngsters , you could also say reluctant and you would be absolutely right , i see it as a wise method tbh. Besides , we have a lot of young players from our ranks that have yet to get their chance and there are always more elsewhere . I can't give a shit about Niango tbh , especially now that Milan is in such a difficult period and he wants out . Please . Taarabt tbh is twice the talent Niang is and he has done more in 3 months than Niang did his whole time at Milan , whilst being in a miserable physical condition since his arrival...

I am not saying this to back the one instead of the other ; Taarabt can leave as well for all i care , if he doesn't convince he's capable to wear our shirt. I am bringing this up to make a point that young players of talent and ambition , will never stop to be available to Milan . Never .

To conclude , you are absolutely 100% right that Milan has to offer more youngsters , even more chances to prove themselves within the team and finally stop bringing home every next Birsa & Silvestre that is cheaply available. But that does not guarantee any success for the youngsters either. Offloading Robinho won't guarantee any success for Niang and so on. Not signing Birsa , which i believe we shouldn't , won't necessarily mean that Merkel would succeed in his place ; every single midfielder we have including Cristante , is much more valuable as a player than Merkel . He would never play a game and his carreer would take a disastrous turn after that . The same has happened with Paloschi and so many others.

A simple fact , you remember Papastathopoulos? Sokratis , who plays for Dortmund now? Opinions were divided about him if you remember , if not the majority being against him. Yet Sokratis wasn't shown the door by Milan , nor by Allegri as many though back then ; sure Milan wanted to loan him as a first option , but why was that ? Was it because Bonera or Kaladze were better ? lol no . Because he wanted play regularly and we could never offer him that. And he has confirmed in the greek media later that he wanted out himself , because of this. Turns out he reached Dortmund after a while and trust me when i say to you he was ready to become 11 material right after Silva and Nesta left Milan. He only had a year to wait , right ?

Right. But he was unlucky , unlucky to find two absolute beasts in front of him that could never match any time soon and on top of that , experienced players with much more experience than him . He would barely play 10 games for another year , had he stayed. Who knows how badly this could have turned out for him. I want to say that , things don't always work well for anybody , even when there's mutual goals and desires.. Sokratis today would have been our best defender had he been willing to wait for his big chance , yet this very fact , although it may seem a fault on our side , it is not. He wasn't ready then and we could never trully offer him what he wanted , so Milan granted him his wish and sold him to Werder. We lost a solid defender there , but not because we wanted Bonera instead of him , or maybe because he dissapointed. But simply because circumstances didn't allow it and you can't fault Sokratis for his choice , who likes to take such a step back ?

The same goes for many , if not most of the youngsters we have had and will have . They must have luck too and they have to want to be in Milan , at any cost. Niango can stay the fk away , there are and always will be better talents than him , but most importantly , talents who hold Milan dear , not just a big club who will make them famous. And even then , like with Sokratis , it still can always fail in the end . It's obviously dissapointing to see youngster after youngster being put aside like this , even if i never really liked Niang i can understand how you think , but there will always be others , most probably much better players , who will make it in the end . Sooner or later , it will happen and when it does , we can rest assured they will be of the same material of El Shaarawy and De Sciglio , or Poli and Balotelli . But Niangos and Strassers must happen before that.

Admittedly, my post was hyperbole in comparing unknown quantities and asserting their superiority over members of our current squad. At the same time, what I wanted to draw attention to, and what you guys picked up on, was that many of these unknowns had potential to be better than what we currently have. And I didn't even pick the best players that we have let go to make the point. There is a whole team of ex-Milan players who are more worthy of a position in our squad than the current players. We need coaches who will entrust youth with 1st team responsibilities more frequently.

Right now, Seedorf's squad selection is a case in point. Our season is completely shot, yet people with no future at a better Milan are starting games at the expense of youth. Pacifico still sits behind Mexes, Zaccardo, Bonera and Zapata for some reason. This is inexplicable after the aforementioned players have been personally responsible for conceeding a shameful number of goals. Meanwhile Pacifico is winning trophies with Pippo. Petagna - will he ever see time? Has Saponara had his chance? And worst of all, by far, Cristante is being shafted for Essien. Bloody Essien. Eugh.

I agree , especially about the Essien over Cristante case. However , there are certain situations in football , that us fans either do not catch or we simply don't want to accept/agree with . For example , in Essien's case , Essien signed for us and must prove one or two things if he wants to stay here , but it's not just that ; he was guaranteed games by Milan the club , in order for him to be sure and obviously to accept our proposal. This is something that has been happening in most situations , with almost all players that aren't youngsters and obviously not just in Milan. Contracts mean a certain amount of game time , form or not , success or not , this coach or that. When these minimum amount of games isn't met , the player has the will but in most cases the definite right to leave the club , after a contract is breached like that. But what's important to this conversation , is that this simple fact , devours a vast amount of game time from youngsters. It's not just Essien , that's what i am trying to point out here ; every player has to play a certain amount of minutes/games and in most cases , those with the fewer appearances/minutes leave said club , summer after summer , in whatever league or club .

Overall all what this means is , less game time for Cristante , even if him and Essien are not trully direct antagonists for a position. There's only so much space and time to use everyone adequately , not to mention to be kept satisfied.. Anyway , as i said i agree , we should trust the younger dudes more and we should definitely stop with the massive gathering of Zaccardos , Birsas and Essiens of this world. We must , if we want these youngsters to have a fair chance.

Yet i feel for all the bunch of scrubs that have nested our roster , i must say i don't see who will keep benching Cristante when he's absolutely ready for a place in the 11 ; or Pacifico , or anybody else , when their time comes. Exactly like it happened with Mattia and Stephan , it will happen with the next ones. Abate managed to lose his spot to De Sciglio and imo i don't see who will stop Cristante when his time comes. Even if that is supposed to be Montolivo or De Jong , Cristante will earn his place , if he's worth it , that goes without saying.

Anyway , i am not worried for now , at least untill i see what they will be doing in the summer. I suspect that we will have our way for once , it will be a crime for Milan to fall in disagreement with the fans this time , when it's that obvious that most of this team has failed and it needs some much needed injection of youth .

I don't expect a massive exodus to be quite honest , but i do expect an exodus of players that probably want to leave already , such as Zaccardo and Silvestre . I feel confident about this , because let's face it , even if Berlusconi decided to open his wallet for transfers for once , he cannot trully hope to replace all of the players that will leave this summer , never mention Traore and Nocerino are still Milan players on paper

I am pretty certain next season we will have a lot more youngsters in our squad than ever before . I don't expect us to become the italian Arsenal either.. there are certain older/experienced players that most certainly won't leave Milan , but there will be space enough for younger players after the summer , especially with Seedorf at the helm.

Yes, unfortunately we have far too much rubbish sitting around for just 1 trip to the dump.

AC Milan attacking midfielder Kaka has revealed he would like to move to the MLS when his career at San Siro comes to and end.

The Brazilian, who rejoined the Rossoneri last summer from Real Madrid, is in line to make his 300th appearance for the club against Chievo on Saturday.

While he insists he does not regret his return to Milan despite their difficult season to date, Kaka has hinted he could consider leaving in the summer - and he would like to move to North America should he quit the club.

"I have no regrets at my decision to come back to Milan," he told Corriere della Sera. "It is part of life to experience strange moments and every team has had a crisis at one stage, so this is Milan's moment.

"I don't think [Clarence] Seedorf expected to find such a difficult situation, but Clarence is still only at the start [of his coaching career].

"In future I'd like to play in America. At the end of the season I'll talk to Adriano Galliani to understand his ideas and those of the club.

"If I were to leave, then I would like a transfer to the United States."

Adel Taarabt says he wants to make his loan move to AC Milan permanent and revealed his agent is already in talks over a deal.

The Moroccan is currently on loan at the San Siro outfit from QPR and could reportedly make a switch to the Italian capital for €7million at the end of the season.

Following Milan's 3-0 win against Chievo on Saturday, Taarabt stated the wheels were already in motion over a move.

"My agent is already talking to Milan, as I am very happy here," he is quoted as telling Mediaset. "I have played in important games, I really like Italy and I want to stay with Milan.

Excuse the short post (I'm pressed for time), however I feel like these last 2-3 season (maybe 3 is pushing it) were perfect for implementing youth players. We had such big talks of becoming more youth oriented and if there was ever a time, it was over the last couple of seasons. I understand it would have taken patience, but I think if management was honest with the fans, they would have been more willing to stick with the team through such a transition. It was inevitable (to me at least) that we would eventually crash out of a Champions League place and I would have much preferred if we took that time to make some actual changes to the way we did things.

Just my two cents.

ranDOM 10 wrote:Excuse the short post (I'm pressed for time), however I feel like these last 2-3 season (maybe 3 is pushing it) were perfect for implementing youth players. We had such big talks of becoming more youth oriented and if there was ever a time, it was over the last couple of seasons. I understand it would have taken patience, but I think if management was honest with the fans, they would have been more willing to stick with the team through such a transition. It was inevitable (to me at least) that we would eventually crash out of a Champions League place and I would have much preferred if we took that time to make some actual changes to the way we did things.

Just my two cents.

Completely agree. This season is being completely wasted because youth aren't getting game time.

Dom , you make a fair point . But at the end of the day , Milan did , actually , implement youth enough and most of them , well mostly those who were worth it , had every chance they could have hoped for to make it.

What would you call Poli , Balotelli , El Shaarawy , De Sciglio , Cristante , Taarabt , Petagna , Saponara and Gabriel , if not implementing youth players ?

And if we consider those who didn't make it to the present , such as Vila , Merkel , Strasser , Niang .. there's at least 13 players that fit the bill , never mention some lads from the primavera , who had a tiny chance to make it , though they didn't. Tiny or not , fair or unfair , right or wrong way , they did have it , either through cup games or pre-season , or by pure luck during the season.


I don't agree that we missed any chance , we could say though that it didn't work 100% perfect . Having said that , if we look at how clubs who have more experience in implementing youth have acted , you'll see they introduce 2-3 at most each season. In the last 2.5 years , we've had much more than that implemented in the team , admittedly with mixed results . Having said that , success or not , Milan did inject youth and if we compare the numbers , Milan at the very least didn't miss any chance to act , so in that regard you were a bit off in your post , though i must say i wish i could agree , we need more end product in the end.

Still , let's not forget how difficult such a project is ; we've had to implement youth with such efficiency since Maldini's and Costacurta's time.. we talk about it as it's like the playstation, just add youngsters.. It doesn't work like that . Sure , if you're Lecce or Sassuolo it could be , but not at Milan. In any case, it's very hard for all clubs to make this particular objective succesfull and Milan did try hard to make it work in the last couple of years , (once again) even with such mixed results. I'd say it was a good start before anything , which gave us De Sciglio & El Shaarawy , at the very least.

The goal after 11-12 was to inject youth to the team and it happened , some of us would likely want more than that , but still , we can't really deny the club's efforts. But most importantly , it doesn't look like stopping either. The failure was and is in the part where we needed the experienced players to perform , so as to be safe at least . Our lack of investment and our habit of risking with cheap options , made this season what it is.

Otherwise , had this season been secured now , let's say we had secured a CL spot , or even E.league guaranteed , the chances would be much better to see youngsters playing some games untill the end of the season. Right now , Milan need to salvage anything we can and more so than ever this season , instill some confidence back into the team , but for next season..

That goes for the youngsters.. never mention the case with Seedorf , who has to get some wins back home. If you think , that a Milan half incarnated by youngsters would win him the right to stay next season , i must say you haven't given it much thought. Seedorf will probably give much more emphasis on youth than Allegri did , but that won't happen unless he secures his job first and only what best we have will secure that for him. We wouldn't win 3-0 against Chievo with Iotti and Pacifico in the defence , nor we would score 3 with Petagna and Di Molfetta in ..

You get what i am saying . Milan had the whole season to do better if we wanted to see youth players getting to play these days.. it's really not a good time right now , as circumstances dictate imminent progress , to trust youngsters for the remaining games of the season. First goes any chance we may still have to make the EL , yes even if only 1 in 5 people care about it. We can't miss european football , it money+ , games+ , experience+.. we can't afford to miss the EL as well , missing on the CL is already bad as it is. Then goes preparing for next season and THEN , the youngsters. Altering priorities right now would most certainly guarantee more misery and defeats.. and that won't be of help to anybody , not to mention to the youngsters who would fail .. it could turn really ugly for them and whatever chance they have had to make it to Milan would simply evaporate . What's happening now , is best for all , club , team and fans ; let's gain some stability back and everything will roll with time.

I think the frustration is coming when you see old washed up players like Mourinho-spy Essien taking the place of (insert youngsters name here), which could hardly have been worse.

Barbara talks and talks of youngsters being the future, so it will happen more and more the coming years. But to follow the german model in Italy without no infrastructure, no owned stadium etc, is a weird project, and one that we probably wont see the fruits of in many years, if any. Fighting for the title is just not a reality for this club anymore Might not see this until Barbara sells the club after a bunch of failed seasons, and end up like Rosella Sensi.

We all have high hopes for our youngsters and we hope for that next star, even though the odds are slim to none coming from our academy. Our best hopes are seeing them again in one of our summer tours abroad I'm afraid.

Taraabt's agent says Milan will sign him at the end of the season (on a permanent basis) for €3 million - €4 million. That's pretty cheap, so we should be able to afford it. And as cocky as he was before he moved here, he has had a positive impact, so personally, I'm in favor of signing him.

I'm been a little pressed for time, Dante, but I'm more inclined to agree with your views on Milan. Thank you for taking the time to write out such a detailed post

I wish I had the time to write proper responses to your excellent posts throughout the section in recent times Dante, I shall do so soon I promise.

In the mean time, the latest speculation regarding Abate's future and potential replacements.

--------------------------------

With Ignazio Abate likely to leave Milan, the club have highlighted Fabio Coentrao as a possible replacement.

Stories emerged earlier on Tuesday that the Italy international was being targeted by Lazio, and was keen on a move.

As such, Spanish outlet Fichajes have insisted that the Rossoneri will go in for the Real Madrid man in the summer.

The Portugal international has dropped down the pecking order at Santiago Bernabeu, playing second fiddle to Marcelo.

As such, Clarence Seedorf will hope to bring him in during the off-season, but it could be for an intial one-year loan.

Milan however, will face competition from Manchester United, who are also interested.

---------------------------------

Unfamiliar with the source, however I find it very hard that Madrid would allow Coentrao to simply leave on loan, or that we would face no other competition than United for his signature. He would be an excellent acquisition should Ignazio leave, however an unrealistic one I fear.

Thanks guys , i appreciate your good words. It's fine Dosto , all of us more or less don't always have the time we would like to have , to contribute as much as we would like . When time allows .

As for Abate , i am not sure what to say. My initial thought to all reports linking him away from Milan has always been , yeah sure , but who can tell after this season. I certainly don't like the idea of Abate leaving , without saying i believe it already. Let's not get ahead of ourselves because some people write stuff. As for Coentrao , well i guess , this would always be very difficult regardless of what happens with Abate.

If Coentrao became officially available in the summer , Milan should be giving it a shot for him , even though like Dosto said , it's somewhat unrealistic. In spite of our intentions , clubs like psg or any english club interested will snap him up for the lols if he's meant to go to the highest bidder.

We have to be prioritising the clearing out of the trash before selling off Abate. Selling Abate will create another problem, whereas selling the trash will create an opportunity for solutions.

ye , first things first. I see no good reason for Milan to sell Abate before other things . Unless Abate is the one who wants out , then that's a different matter.

Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin has made it clear that he will not join AC Milan ahead of the 2013-14 campaign as he is happy with life at his current club.

The 21-year-old is regarded as one of the most promising shot stoppers around in Serie A and has been heavily linked with a move to the San Siro side in the past few months.

Nevertheless, the youngster - who has a contract with Genoa until June 2017 - has insisted that a transfer is not an option for him at this stage of his career.

"Milan? I will 100 per cent certain play for Genoa next season," Perin told Sky Sport.

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2014/04/1193356RI1ZYbCZ.gif

Perin pls

I agree wholeheartedly with Dante and Forza, though I broach the subject not out of any eagreness to see Abate depart, far from it. I believe that should it become apparent that Abate is not considered a first team member by Seedorf then he'll want to leave to continue playing regularly, particularly if he suffers the insult of being benched for the likes of Urby and Constant. To lose an established international in the position we are in would be a great loss, however one that we must sadly contemplate as possible given the current management. Santon has been shocking of late, however given our tendency to resurrect the careers of former Inter youngsters, he might provide some small consolation if Ignazio does leave.

The club he's linked to is playing his team in a few days, and he says there is no chance of him signing for the opposition.

I wouldn't be bothered about those comments, lads.

Either way, I just hope we sign a young GK rather than signing a player like Agazzi or Marchetti.